Cops are villains but Sohrabuddin is no hero

When the police gun down a man and claim that he was a terrorist, the media accepts it without any hesitation.

It is the basic principle of journalism to treat a person as suspect (call him suspected militant) unless convicted by court, is forgotten. Terrorist was gunned down, claim headlines. But when a few years later the court hold the cops guilty of fake encounter, he is made a hero.

Yes, Sohrabuddin was not an innocent or 'doodh ka dhula'. He must have been somebody'. Else, why would so many officers of the elite services (IPS), politicians and businessmen ganged up to eliminate him at any cost. It is learnt that Rs 2 crore was offered by Rajasthan's marble merchants to kill him.

In this particular case, he was killed in cold blood and so was his wife. Ideally he should have been arrested and if there were charges against him, he should have been tried and the police should have brought evidences that could lead to his conviction and a long sentence.

Many Gujarat cops are rogue. Surely, we all know that many top officials were party to the state sponsored genocide after Godhra. The state government has functioned like a fascist state. And it was wrong on part of police to kill him.

But people are wondering that if he was such an innocent person, why so much pains were taken to kill him. Why was he on the hit list of police in so many states. And did he have a criminal record? If he had, why it is not being mentioned now.

The questions abound and electronic media seems that its viewers are fools and they will accept whatever is offered in terms of news. Even today all the channels reported that 'Terrorists were arrested', and not 'Suspected Terrorists arrested' or "police claim arresting terrorists".

Sohrabuddin may or may not be a terrorist. But he was surely a gangster. He had a long criminal record and had strong links in under world. The police was aware of his links and criminal activities. The way police of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and MP had undertaken this joint operation, it is clear that the police wanted to kill him.

Otherwise with such a preparation, he could have been properly arrested and tried. Only if some effort in collecting evidences was made. Not only Sohrabuddin but his wife, Kausar Bi, and companion Tulsi Ram were also killed.

The policemen tried to sabotage the system and hopefully they will pay for it. Even if you discount Sohrabuddin Sheikh, they have the blood of the innocent woman on their hands. This case is unique in the sense that the family had the means to go up to the Supreme Court apart from the courage of the witnesses (especially passengers and driver of the bus, from which Sohrabuddin and his wife were brought down midway and taken away by police.

If these cops get convicted, encounter killings would become rarer, at least in near future. But the nexus of politicians, traders and rogue cops resulted in this fake encounter. What about them and the numerous others who languish in jail just because their families don't have means and they are wrongly framed.

The rogue cops will pay, and the blood of Kausar Bi didn't go waste. It helps certain politicians in garneting sympathy that they are on hit list of terrorists. The state government's role should be probed. Just to please politicians cops often do it. The journalist of the local daily newspaper who put the pieces together also played an important role in exposing the IPS officers who planned the fake encounter.

Ajtak preaches morality in Pawan-Mohini case & Lucknow Love

Pawan and Mohini had a live-in relationship for the last four years in Bangalore. Pawan decided to marry someone else back home in his native state (Bihar) but Mohini reached the police station and a case of 'sexual harassment' was registered against him.

Ajtak turned it into a National story titled 'yeh kaisa pyaar'. The anchors were 'surprised' that how could he do it. Both are adults and had a live-in relationship, which was known to everybody and even documents like the rent agreement proved it. If the boy backs out, it could at the most be a case of 'breach of trust' but surely not sexual harassment.

But the same channel that roots for teen love, inter-caste and inter-religious love finds it 'morally' wrong. Don't we know how many anchors and journos of the channels are themselves in live-in relationships. And they are preaching morality.

Lucknow Love

A couple--Samir and under-age Charu--was found dead in a car in Lucknow. Incidentally, Samir is a Muslim (Mohammad Samir) and this inter-religious angle has brought more 'spice' to the hungry channels.

A similar incident of under-age Khushi Agrawal of Surat and Qadir was lapped up by the Star TV just a few days back.

Lessons for media in Sohrabuddin's fake encounter & cops' arrest

Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi were killed in a fake encounter by Gujarat ATS and Rajasthan STF jointly. His family fought up to the Supreme court and three officers of Indian Police Service (IPS) have been arrested.

But it is time the media realise its mistake. When Sohrabuddin, a native of Ujjain, was killed, the same journalists and channels never termed him as a suspect but straight away branded him as terrorist. The police told the story and without asking questions, media bought it.

Now the same media terms him innocent and the officials who were then heroes for killing an anti-national and 'dreaded militant' are now baying for the blood of Gujarat police officials. Shouldn't media learn to be responsible. Firstly, unless convicted a person is just a suspect or an accused.

He should not be termed as criminal right a way. In press conferences, the journalists must not buy any police story but they should ask questions and seek at least some proof that he was involved in such and such activity but the hunger for readymade byte has led to this pathetic state. Now Sohrabuddin seems to have become innocent all of a sudden. Whither credibility?

Besides, when the entire fake encounter story was proved false, it was no larger-than-life journo of these media channels but a rickshaw driver-turn-journalist Prashant Dayal, who broke this story that led the arrest of IPS officers that thas shaken the entire administrative brass in this country.

(Click on his name to read the story about him on rediff).

The heat is now on BJP government in Gujrat. Apart from police officials G Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian, an SP and Rajasthan's officer Dinesh Kumar. Even the Home Minister Amit Shah is under a tight spot.